Hello Friday!
FROM BEAUTIFUL BELLEAIR BLUFFS, FLORIDA
FEED MY SHEEP
In John 21:1-17 we read about how after the death
and resurrection of Christ, Peter and several of the other disciples
went back to the Sea of Galilee. They went fishing, caught nothing,
and then had a miraculous catch when Jesus appeared and told them
to try again on the other side of the boat. Jesus then meets them
on the shore for a fish fry and fellowship.
Personal Insights
They had gone back to their old stomping grounds.
They had gone back to what they were comfortable with. They had
just spent 3 years "up close and personal" with Jesus.
He had groomed them to be world changers. They had been equipped
for a big job, but instead Jesus finds them back at the Sea of
Galilee fishing.
Don't condemn these guys. You see, God gives us (you
and me) special gifts, and prepares us, and then calls us to a
certain ministry. But often, for a variety of reasons, we don't
go through with our assignments. We end up going back to what
we are comfortable with.
They were doing the old job the old way and they
caught nothing. Why should they have? They were acting in their
own strength and their own knowledge - where was God's plan? What
were they supposed to be doing?
Point for us - God has a perfect plan for our lives
- yet often we choose our own path and come up empty.
Jesus was making a point here as if to say, "Hey
guys, I'm the one who brings success. I don't care what you know,
who you are, or where you have been, if you don't follow my plan
- it ain't gonna happen. And of course when they did what he suggested
they had marvelous success.
DUH! - Why can't we learn this simple lesson: God
has a plan for us that is guaranteed to succeed - our job is to
find it, and follow it ( Jeremiah 29:11-13).
We find the answer to that question in the following
discussion between Jesus and Peter. It is all wrapped up in this
profound question from Christ:
"Peter, do you love Me more than these?"
You see, Peter loved everything about fishing. He
loved to fish, he loved his fishing buddies, he loved the boats,
he loved the nets, he loved to eat fish, he loved the outdoors,
the adventure, the challenge, the battle, the strategy, he loved
to sit around with his fishing buddies and tell fishing stories.
Peter loved everything about fishing. This had been his whole
life and this is what he ran back to when the messiah thing went
sour.
So when Jesus asks him the penetrating question (3
times), "Peter do you love Me more than these?", he
was literally asking him, "do you love me more than life?"
"Peter do you love me more than these?" "Yes Lord, You know I love You".
"Peter do you love me more than these?" "Yes Lord, You know I love You".
"Peter do you love me more than these?"
"Yes Lord, You know I love You".
The New Testament church (the great institution that
changed the world) was started that day, right there on that humble
lake shore.
So today Jesus is asking us this same penetrating
question.
"Do you love me more than these?
"Do you love me more than your family?"
"Do you love me more that your job?"
"Do you love me more than your toys?"
"Do you love me more than your friends?"
"Do you love me more than your dreams?"
"Do you love me more than your plans?"
"Do you love me more than your own life??????"
Jesus asks, "Do you love me more than these?".
Yes, Lord , Yes, Lord, Yes, Lord, You know I love You.
And Jesus responds - FEED MY SHEEP
-------------------------------------------------------------
FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE SILLY
IMPONDERABLES
(sent in by Laurie hale - Texas)
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
How do I set my laser printer on stun?
How is it possible to have a civil war?
If all the world is a stage, where is the audience
sitting?
If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have
to drown too?
If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still
#2?
If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay
you to do it?
If you're born again, do you have two bellybuttons?
If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be
hungry?
If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot
at them?
Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because
of that song?
What happens when none of your bees wax?
If the black box flight recorder is never damaged
during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of
the same stuff?
Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
If most car accidents occur within five miles of
home, why doesn't everyone just move 10 miles away?
If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still
have monkeys and apes?
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the
self-help section? She said if she told me, it would
defeat the purpose.
If all those psychics know the winning lottery numbers,
why are they all still working?
IF YOU GET CAUGHT SLEEPING ON THE JOB
(sent in by Dave Burris - Florida)
"They told me at the blood bank this might happen."
"This is just a 15-minute power nap like they raved about in that
time-management course you sent me to."
"I was working smarter - not harder."
"Whew! I musta left the top off the liquid paper."
"Oh, I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on our mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"
"This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!"
"I was testing the keyboard for drool-resistance."
"I'm in the management training program."
"I'm actually doing a "Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan" (SLEEP) I learned at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend."
"This is in exchange for the six hours last night when I dreamed about work!"
"I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Do you discriminate against people who practice Yoga?"
"Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem."
"Uh, hey, whaddaya expect... the coffee machine is broken..."
"Someone must've put decaf in the wrong pot."
"Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off!"
"Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the
workaholic!"
"I wasn't sleeping. I was trying to pick up my contact lens without my hands."
"Geez, I thought you (the boss) were gone for
the day."
"HELLO, WELCOME TO THE PSYCHIATRIC HOTLINE."
(sent in by Chrys Hambley -Florida)
Phone recording:
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.
If you have multiple personalities, please press
3, 4, 5 and 6.
If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are
and what you want. just stay on the line until we can trace the
call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and the
voices will tell you which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which
number you press. no one will answer.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
(sent in by Angie Hunt - Florida)
Bob Smith, my assistant programmer, can always be found
hard at work in his cubicle. Bob works independently, without
wasting company time talking to colleagues. Bob never
thinks twice about assisting fellow employees, and he always
finishes given assignments on time. Often Bob takes extended
measures to complete his work, sometimes skipping coffee
breaks. Bob is a dedicated individual who has absolutely no
vanity in spite of his high accomplishments and profound
knowledge in his field. I firmly believe that Bob can be
classed as a high-caliber employee, the type which cannot be
dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Bob be
promoted to executive management, and a proposal will be
sent away as soon as possible.
Sincerely, Ed Gobak -Project Leader
(The following memo was sent directly to the supervisor
following the above letter):
That ying yang, Bob Smith, was reading over my shoulder
when I wrote his recommendation letter sent to you earlier today.
Kindly read every second line (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ..) for my
true assessment of him.
Regards, Ed Gobak - Project Leader
FINAL WORD FROM KEN
I hope you have a great day, and I hope you found
at least one smile in this issue of Hello Fridays.
God bless, Ken